Romero put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me back against him. “Lily, don’t. I’m a soldier of the Famiglia. I broke my oath to always put the Famiglia first, and I have to accept the due punishment.”
“I don’t care about any oaths. I don’t want to lose you,” I said as I turned in his grip.
Aria lay her palms flat against Luca’s chest. “Please, Luca, don’t punish Romero for protecting someone he loved. He and Lily belong together. I beg you.” She said the last in the barest whisper. I wanted to hug her, but I was scared to move. She and Luca were gazing at each other and I didn’t want to break their silent understanding, especially if it saved Romero’s life. I glanced up at Romero. He looked so calm, nothing like someone whose life could end any moment.
Luca finally tore his eyes away from my sister and gently removed her hands from his chest. “I can’t base my decisions on feelings. I’m Capo and have to make decisions that benefit my Famiglia.”
Romero nodded, then he walked past me and stood across from Luca. I began shaking, completely terrified. Aria’s wide eyes settled on me.
“You are my best soldier. The Famiglia needs you, and I don’t trust anyone with Aria as I do with you,” Luca said. He put a hand on Romero’s shoulder. “War has been inevitable for a while. I won’t end your life to postpone it for a few fucking months. We’ll stand together.”
I almost sagged with relief. Aria rushed over to me and hugged me tightly. My moment of euphoria was short-lived however.
“Of course, we might not get out of this house with our lives,” Luca added. “We’re surrounded by the enemy now.”
“Most guests are either drunk or asleep. We could try to sneak out. By the time they notice Benito’s missing tomorrow morning, we’ll be back in New York,” Romero said. A flicker of relief showed on his face. I wanted to be in his arms but he and Luca needed to deal with our dilemma, a dilemma I’d started. What if we really didn’t get out alive? The Outfit outnumbered us greatly. This was their territory and we were thousands of miles away from reinforcement.
“I’ll have to call Matteo and Gianna. They need to come here so we can figure out the best way to get out of this house,” Luca said, already raising his phone to his ear.
Romero strode over to me and smoothed the crease between my brows. I pressed up against him. Aria headed for Luca, giving us space.
“I was so scared,” I whispered.
Romero buried his face in my hair. “I know.”
“Weren’t you? It was your life on the line.”
“My life has been on the line since I’ve become a Made Man. I’ve grown used to it. The one thing that fucking scared me today was when I had to watch you walk toward your wedding night with that asshole Benito. I wanted to kill him then. I’ve wanted to kill him every day since I found out you were forced to marry him. I’m glad that I finally did.”
“Me too,” I said, then rose to my tiptoes and kissed his lips.
“Damn it. Matteo isn’t picking up his fucking phone.”
“Do you think something happened to them?” Aria asked.
Romero let out a small laugh, and exchanged a look with Luca.
“The only thing happening is that he’s probably fucking your sister’s brains out right now and ignores his fucking phone,” Luca said.
I wrinkled my nose. Of course I knew my sisters had sex, I just didn’t want to be reminded of it, or worse: imagine it. “Can’t we go over to their room?”
Luca shook his head. “It’s farther away from the back entrance.” He dialed again. “Damn it!”
“We should carry Benito into the bathroom and cover the blood stain in the carpet with something. That way if someone walks in tomorrow morning, it might buy us a bit more time.”
Luca shoved his phone into his pocket, then gripped Benito by the feet while Romero took the arms. I shuddered as I watched them carry the corpse into the adjoining bathroom. My husband was like a sack of flour in their hold.
“You should get out of your wedding dress and wear something more sensible,” Aria suggested softly. She touched my arm lightly, drawing my eyes away from the dead body. After a moment, I nodded. Luca and Romero came back out of the bathroom and discussed how best to go about our flight.
I grabbed jeans and a pullover from my bag in the corner, before heading toward the bathroom to change in peace, but froze in the doorway. Benito was sprawled out in the bathtub. I didn’t want to be alone with a dead man. Bile traveled up my throat.
“Hey,” Romero said gently, coming up behind me. “Do you want me to come with you?”
I nodded merely and finally stepped into the bathroom. Romero entered after me. I quickly got out of my dress with his help. “Somehow I always imagined it would be different when I’d help you out of your wedding dress,” he murmured.
I laughed breathlessly. I dropped the dress unceremoniously on the ground. For me it was only a symbol for the worst day of my life. I wasn’t sad to be rid of it. Maybe one day I’d get the chance to have another wedding, one I’d want, with a husband I loved. I changed into my other clothes.
Romero picked the dress up, and for a crazy moment I thought he wanted to keep it for our own future wedding. “What are you doing?”
“I want to cover the blood stain in the bedroom with it. Nobody will get suspicious if your wedding dress lies on the floor after your wedding night.” He headed out of the room and set the dress down on the ground.
Luca nodded. “Good. Now let’s get going. I don’t want to risk staying here a moment longer than absolutely necessary.” He held out his hand for Aria, who took it. I suspected the tension between them would be over after tonight. The way they looked at each other gave me hope that Luca would forgive her for her secrecy. After pulling his gun, he opened the door and peered out into the corridor.